Lonzo Ball Rumors | Hoops Rumors

Bulls Notes: LaVine, Green, Ball, Trade Deadline

December 21st, 2022 at 8:42pm CST by Arthur Hill

In the midst of giving up 150 points to the Timberwolves on Sunday, Bulls players had several angry exchanges in the locker room during halftime, according to Joe Cowley of The Chicago Sun-Times. A coach had to come into the room to settle things down, Cowley adds.

Sources told Cowley that the tension was the result of persistent defensive breakdowns over the previous five games and much of the anger was directed at Zach LaVine. Cowley notes that LaVine was playing defense at the best level of his career last season before he started developing knee pain. Teammates expected him to return to that level after knee surgery and with his new contract signed, but that hasn’t happened.

“I don’t think you can sit there and point at every defensive breakdown and say ‘Hey, that’s on Zach’ or ‘It’s all DeMar (DeRozan),” coach Billy Donovan said. “No, it’s all of us. We’re all together. And we as coaches play a part in it, too, constantly trying to create the clarity for him as in, ‘This is what we’re doing, and can we do it at a high enough level?'”

LaVine dismissed the incident after Tuesday’s win at Miami, Cowley states in a separate story.

“Something that happens all the time in our locker room,’’ he said. “Multiple guys talking; multiple guys frustrated. That’s what’s supposed to happen; it’s a basketball team. Not the first time, not the last time. It’s just you guys hear it. It’s nothing new to us.’’

There’s more on the Bulls:

Javonte Green continues to battle right knee soreness, Cowley adds, and is missing his sixth straight game tonight. Donovan said Green is making progress, but he still feels pain in the knee whenever the team tries to increase his activity in rehab.
Lonzo Ball didn’t offer many specifics when he talked to reporters Tuesday after the condition of his left knee, but he sounded positive about the rehab process, per Rob Schafer of NBC Sports Chicago. Ball, who underwent surgery in September, said he has been able to do some stationary shooting drills. However, he still has pain in the knee, which causes mobility issues. “Last couple weeks, I’m finally seeing some improvement, which is nice to see,” he said. “It’s still not obviously where I want to be. But it’s definitely positive light at the end of the tunnel.”
Rival executives believe the Bulls should be sellers heading into the trade deadline, but they’re not sure that Chicago’s front office agrees, according to Eric Pincus of Bleacher Report. DeRozan, Nikola Vucevic and Alex Caruso could all be in demand, and some teams may be watching LaVine as well, although his injury history and $215MM extension could make him tough to deal. According to Pincus, the belief among representatives at the Winter Showcase in Las Vegas is that Chicago hasn’t made an effort to trade any of its top players.

Eastern Notes: Collins, Murray, Durant, Claxton, Ball

December 18th, 2022 at 5:37pm CST by Dana Gauruder

Hawks forward John Collins could return to action on Monday, Lauren Williams of the Atlanta Journal-Constitution tweets. Collins is listed as questionable to play against Orlando. Collins has been sidelined by a left ankle sprain since the beginning of the month. At that time, he was expected to miss at least two weeks, so he has progressed on schedule.

Collins is having a down season by his standards — through 22 games (31.5 MPG), he’s averaging 12.3 PPG, 7.5 RPG and 1.4 BPG on .484/.219/.845 shooting. The Hawks big man has been the subject of numerous trade rumors and his return to action could facilitate a potential deal.

Hawks guard Dejounte Murray (left ankle sprain) is also listed as questionable. He hasn’t played since departing early against the Knicks on Dec. 7.

We have more from the Eastern Conference:

The red-hot Nets are playing at Detroit on Sunday and Kevin Durant believes the team has turned the corner, Brian Lewis of the New York Post writes. They entered the game against the Pistons on a five-game winning streak. “Yeah, we just figured out, we’re understanding the way we want to play,” Durant said. “That’s always the good part about finding your identity in the league is that now you can start relaxing a bit going into games, preparing. It’s cool because you know your role, you understand exactly how we want to play.”
Nets big man Nic Claxton isn’t bashful when discussing his defensive prowess. Claxton believes he should be in the discussion for the Defensive Player of the Year award, he said in a YES Network interview (hat tip to NetsDaily.com). “Honestly, I feel that I am one of the best defenders in the league. I feel I should be in the top for the Defensive Player of the Year,” he said. “I feel like I wasn’t getting the respect I deserve. We’re winning, my numbers are good protecting the rim, guarding 1 through 5.” Claxton is averaging 2.3 blocks, including a season-high six against Toronto on Friday.
Bulls guard Lonzo Ball is “progressing towards (running),” coach Billy Donovan told K.C. Johnson of NBC Sports Chicago (Twitter link) and other media members. There’s no timetable on when he’ll be cleared to try running. Ball will require a “significant ramp-up” period for conditioning after he starts running before he can finally return to action. Ball hasn’t played since January due to persistent knee issues.

Woj: “No Guarantees” Lonzo Ball Plays In 2022/23

December 14th, 2022 at 9:26pm CST by Rory Maher

Prior to the Bulls‘ matchup with New York on Wednesday, ESPN’s Adrian Wojnarowski provided a gloomy update on point guard Lonzo Ball‘s status for the 2022/23 season.

Ball, who has yet to play this season, continues to be hampered by left knee pain despite two surgeries to address the issue in the past year. The first surgery was to repair a torn meniscus in January, and the second was an arthroscopic debridement procedure in September, which involves removing foreign objects or damaged/dead tissue from a wound.

“There are no guarantees, I’m told, that he plays at all this season.” Wojnarowski said on NBA Countdown (video link). “He’s rehabbing that knee now, he’s still feeling some pain in it. I think the hope is, that perhaps by the All-Star break in mid-February, that they have a sense of whether Lonzo Ball is ready to come back and play for Chicago.

“A lot of that may depend on where are the Bulls in the standings. Right now they’re 11th, they’re out of the playoff picture. I think if they’re lingering around that area, there will be a real decision to be made about whether he plays at all.”

Wojnarowski added that the Bulls will be faced with a lot of difficult decisions ahead of the trade deadline if the team continues to struggle, but “there’s no expectation you’ll see him (Ball), at least perhaps, until around the All-Star break.”

The last official update on Ball’s status came at the end of November, when coach Billy Donovan said that the guard’s rehab process had been going “really slow.” He added that Ball, who last played in January, was “not even close” to running, jumping or cutting.

Prior to Ball’s second surgery, ESPN reported that he visited “multiple specialists” in an attempt to figure out what was causing the discomfort in his knee and to explore possible treatments. At the time, a source told ESPN that the knee was “structurally sound,” but Ball’s pain hadn’t subsided after a summer of rest and rehab.

Ball has dealt with injuries throughout his six-year career, but this is by far his longest absence. The former No. 2 overall pick had a promising start with the Bulls last season, averaging 12.3 PPG, 5.4 RPG, 5.1 APG, 1.8 SPG and 0.9 BPG while shooting 42.3% from three-point range and playing strong defense in 35 games (34.6 MPG).

Scotto’s Latest: Bulls, Mavs, Suns, Muscala, Wright

December 6th, 2022 at 11:41am CST by Luke Adams

A number of NBA executives who have spoken to Michael Scotto of HoopsHype are “closely monitoring” the Bulls, Scotto told co-host Yossi Gozlan in the latest episode of the HoopsHype podcast. With Chicago off to an underwhelming 9-14 start and with no indication of when Lonzo Ball might be back on the court, teams are curious to see whether the club might become a seller.

There’s “a lot” of league-wide interest in DeMar DeRozan, according to Scotto, who says Nikola Vucevic is another name that figures to pop up in trade rumors over the next couple months. Scotto adds that some teams would have interest in Zach LaVine too, but the Bulls seem unlikely to move him midway through the first season of a five-year, maximum-salary contract.

Having signed with the Bulls over the summer, Goran Dragic and Andre Drummond will become trade-eligible on December 15, and Scotto suggests they could be worth keeping an eye on if Chicago does decide to sell, since both players are low-cost veterans who could slide into rotation roles on playoff teams.

Here are a few more highlights from the podcast:

With JaVale McGee out of the rotation, it’s possible the Mavericks could peruse the trade market in search of another center. According to Scotto, if Dallas does look into that possibility, any trade target would have to be an upgrade defensively and a contrast to Christian Wood.
Scotto has heard from some executives that the Suns ideally don’t want to add any extra salary to their books in a Jae Crowder trade. Crowder is on an expiring $10.2MM deal.
Thunder big man Mike Muscala drew interest from about 10 teams as a free agent this past offseason, so if Oklahoma City is willing to make him available, he’d likely be a popular low-cost target, says Scotto. Due to the terms of his contract, Muscala has the ability to veto any trade that involves him.
The Wizards hope to get Delon Wright within the next two weeks, per Scotto. A weekend report suggested the veteran guard could even be back in action this week.

Billy Donovan: Lonzo Ball’s Knee Rehab Going “Really Slow”

November 30th, 2022 at 9:23pm CST by Rory Maher

After sounding optimistic about Lonzo Ball‘s rehabilitation process at the beginning of November, Bulls head coach Billy Donovan struck a different tone on Wednesday evening, writes Rob Schaefer of NBC Sports Chicago.

“It’s been really slow,” Donovan said. “I’m just being honest.”

Ball underwent an arthroscopic debridement procedure on his left knee at the end of September and was set to be reevaluated in four-to-six weeks. Today marks nine weeks since the surgery was performed, but there’s still no clarity on when he might make his 2022/23 season debut.

Donovan said that Ball “has not necessarily suffered a setback,” according to Schaefer, but he’s “not even close” to resuming contact or on-court work.

“He’s working through more and more. But it’s not like I can give you any report, ‘Hey, he’s running, he’s cutting, he’s jumping, he’s doing individual skill work, the next step is we’ve got to get him some contact.’ To be honest with you we’re not even close to that,” Donovan said.

“Him working through the pain he was experiencing before, there has been improvement in that area, but they’re also trying to continue to build up strength because of the lack of time he’s had, so to speak, training. They’re constantly, like, all hands on deck, everyone is evaluating. There’s a lot of people that are involved in trying to help him.”

As Schaefer notes, “everyone” includes Chicago’s medical staff as well as specialists in Los Angeles, where both of Ball’s recent surgeries were performed. He missed the team’s final 42 games of the ’21/22 regular season after undergoing left meniscus surgery in January.

Ball last played on January 14 and obviously has yet to play this season.

One noteworthy point from Donovan’s aforementioned answer is that Ball is still experiencing pain, though he’s shown “improvement.” The coach later expanded on that, per Schaefer.

“He is better after the surgery, I will say that, but is he completely pain-free? No, and that’s what they’re working towards,” Donovan said. “Or, at least, if he does have some pain, he’s able to play through some of it, work through some of it. All these guys are dealing with pain as the season goes on in some form of it. But for him it’s the pain that has [prevented him from] getting back to playing.”

The Bulls were the No. 1 seed in the East at the time Ball was injured last season, holding a 27-13 record. They went just 19-23 the rest of the way and were eliminated in the first round of the playoffs by the Bucks.

Chicago has certainly missed Ball’s defense, long-range shooting, and ability to push the pace in transition. The Bulls have had a rocky start to the ’22/23 season, currently holding a 9-11 record.

Billy Donovan Has Contract Extension With Bulls

November 29th, 2022 at 12:18pm CST by Arthur Hill

Coach Billy Donovan signed an extension with the Bulls before the season began, according to Shams Charania of The Athletic.

Donovan had two years remaining on his current deal when he negotiated the extension during the offseason. Charania doesn’t provide details of the extension, but he writes that Donovan is now under contract “for several more years.”

Chicago is just 86-88 under Donovan, but the team has shown steady progress since he became head coach. The Bulls were coming off a 22-win season when he was hired in 2020. They went 31-41 in Donovan’s first season, then improved to 46-36 and reached the playoffs for the first time in five years.

Charania points out that Chicago was among the league’s best teams last season before Lonzo Ball‘s knee injury in January. Through January 1, the Bulls were fifth in the league in offense and 10th in defense and they held the best record in the East for much of that time.

The team is currently 8-10 as Ball remains sidelined after another surgical procedure on his left knee in September. Sources tell Charania that Ball and the team remain hopeful that he can return sometime in the new year.

The 57-year-old Donovan came to the NBA in 2017 after winning two NCAA championships at Florida. He compiled a 243-157 record as head coach in Oklahoma City, which was a playoff team in all five seasons he spent there.

Bulls Notes: Dosunmu, Markkanen, Williams, Ball, White

November 17th, 2022 at 5:33pm CST by Alex Kirschenbaum

Second-year Bulls point guard Ayo Dosunmu wants his head coach Billy Donovan to hold nothing back in his approach, and Donovan has delivered, writes Darnell Mayberry of The Athletic. Mayberry notes that Donovan is generally more conversant with younger Chicago players than he is with the team’s vets.

“He just wants me to reach my full potential,” Dosunmu said of Donovan. “He tells me a lot. He’s always coaching with tough love. I love that because that’s making me become a better player. I want to soak up as much information as I can to try to get better every game. Coach does that. He’s always on me when I do things positive and negative. And I think at the end of the day that’s going to make me become a better player and help our team become a better team.”

In his second NBA season, the 6’5″ guard out of Illinois is averaging 11.7 PPG on .488/.353/.923 shooting splits. He is also chipping in 3.8 RPG, 3.2 APG and 0.8 SPG.

There’s more out of the Windy City:

Seven-foot Jazz forward Lauri Markkanen, drafted by the Bulls with the No. 7 pick in 2017 out of Arizona, has enjoyed a breakout run with an upstart 10-5 Utah club thus far. Chicago can learn a lot from Markkanen’s growth into a fringe All-Star talent, especially with regards to the way the team handles raw third-year forward Patrick Williams, opines K.C. Johnson of NBC Sports Chicago.
Although the Bulls are clearly missing the three-point marksmanship and perimeter defense of injured starting point guard Lonzo Ball, the team’s bigger problems will remain even after he returns, Johnson writes in a separate piece. The Bulls lack reliable volume three-point shooters and solid two-way players, which is part of the reason Chicago has is off to a middling 6-9 start this season.
Young Bulls role players Williams and Coby White are listed as questionable to play on Friday against a beatable 4-11 Magic team, reports Rob Schafer of NBC Sports Chicago. White’s status actually represents an improvement, as he has missed the last eight Chicago contests with a left quad contusion. Williams sprained his right ankle late in the Bulls’ 124-110 loss to the Pelicans on Wednesday.

Bulls Notes: Ball, LaVine, Dragić, White, Drummond

November 4th, 2022 at 10:13pm CST by Rory Maher

Bulls head coach Billy Donovan provided a positive update on Lonzo Ball on Friday night, though he admitted that there’s still no timetable for the point guard’s return, writes K.C. Johnson of NBC Sports Chicago. As Johnson notes, it has been a little more than five weeks since the team announced that Ball would be reevaluated in four-to-six weeks following another knee surgery.

“Everything is very, very optimistic right now. I think there are things that he is able to do that he feels a lot freer that he did prior to the surgery,” Donovan said. “The biggest part was allowing the incision inside of his knee to heal. And then he started to do some things. He has done some running on a treadmill in the water, which is a positive sign. There are things he’s doing that he wasn’t able to do.

“Don’t have any timeline on when he’ll really be able to ramp up, but things have progressed. And everything that I’ve gotten from the medical guys has been positive. Obviously, he’s a ways away from running and cutting and doing all those things. But there is optimism that this hopefully has helped him.”

According to Johnson, Donovan said Ball’s discomfort has eased, but until he begins running and cutting again, the team won’t really know where he stands as far as a potential timetable, since Ball will still need to work on conditioning after missing so much time. He last played on January 14.

Ball’s knee issues date back to a torn meniscus that limited him to just 35 games last season. He was originally projected to return a few weeks after the surgery, but a bone bruise disrupted his rehab process.

Here’s more on the Bulls:

Two-time All-Star Zach LaVine (knee) was able to play his third game in four nights in Friday’s loss to the Celtics, which is a positive development. However, it appears as though he’s still trying to regain his finishing ability near the basket, with Johnson noting (via Twitter) that LaVine took exclusively jump shots in the first half. When Johnson (Twitter link) asked LaVine after the game if he felt he had his normal explosion on drives, LaVine said he doesn’t, but he’s not worried about it. “Obviously, I’m not all the way back yet. I feel that. I’m not going to lie. But it’s coming. I’m not scared or anything like that. It’s seven games in. I feel fine,” he said.
Veteran point guard Goran Dragić, a free agent addition over the summer, says he loves his fit with the Bulls after a tumultuous ’21/22 season. “I enjoy it so much here. You get to a new team, new city, new people, and it’s such a nice vibe for me,” Dragić told Johnson in an interview for NBC Sports Chicago. “Good communication with Billy, who is a great coach. I just feel happy. I think that’s the most important thing, especially at the end of your career. That you’re productive and happy.” The 36-year-old also said he’d consider continuing his career beyond this season as long as he’s healthy.
In addition to Ball, Donovan also provided updates on guard Coby White (thigh) and center Andre Drummond (shoulder sprain), who remain sidelined. According to Johnson (Twitter link), Donovan said White has “a significant deep thigh contusion” and is still in a lot of pain, while Drummond is having difficult raising his arm above his head. He didn’t suffer a torn labrum or dislocation like the team feared he might have, but he’s not close to returning to action.

Bulls Notes: Bench, Drummond, Ball, Williams, DeRozan

October 27th, 2022 at 10:00am CST by Luke Adams

The Bulls‘ bench came up big again on Wednesday in the team’s win over Indiana, scoring a season-high 43 points, according to K.C. Johnson of NBC Sports Chicago. Alex Caruso, Goran Dragic, Andre Drummond, Javonte Green, Derrick Jones, and Coby White have all been regular contributors outside of the starting five, with the team frequently running out lineups that feature Zach LaVine and four reserves.

On Wednesday, Dragic was a game-high plus-19, while Caruso (+18), Drummond (+16), and Jones (+16) were right behind him. LaVine (+12), who saw action with those second units, was the only starter who had a positive rating.

“We mesh really well because everybody does what they do at a high level. And I think it complements each other really well,” Caruso said. “Drum gives us that inside presence—great screener, great rebounder, rim protection. Me on the outside kind of stirring everybody up on defense whether it’s Woo (Green) or D.J. helping out with the four-man doing the same thing. And then any of the guards that are in with us, whether it’s Coby, Goran or Zach, doing a good job making decisive decisions.”

Of the Bulls’ lineups that have played at least 10 minutes so far this season, none have performed better than the five-man group of Caruso, Dragic, LaVine, Jones, and Drummond, which has outscored opponents 42-21 in 17 minutes of play.

Here’s more on the Bulls:

Drummond, who referred to Chicago’s second unit as “pretty much a starting lineup,” also dubbed himself “the best rebounder of the past century,” Johnson writes for NBC Sports Chicago. And, as Johnson points out, Drummond may have a statistical case for that title, given that his career average of 13.2 rebounds per game ranks first among players since 2000, as does his 24.68% rebounding percentage. The big man is averaging 9.4 RPG this season despite playing just 15.6 MPG.
It has been four weeks since the Bulls announced they would reevaluate Lonzo Ball in four-to-six weeks following his knee surgery, but head coach Billy Donovan didn’t have any concrete updates on Wednesday, says Joe Cowley of The Chicago Sun-Times. “I have not heard anything as of yet with that,” Donovan said. “He’s doing good. He feels like he’s progressing. He’s pretty optimistic and positive about everything. I think the biggest thing with the surgery is the incision healing in order to continue to make progress, and I just don’t know how far along he is in that process.”
While Patrick Williams‘ inconsistent start to the season has raised questions about his spot in the starting lineup, it doesn’t sound like Donovan intends to move him to the bench anytime soon, Cowley writes in another Sun-Times story. “I do think that with it being early in the season, taking four or five games and saying, ‘OK, we’re scrapping this,’ you never get a chance to see and maybe get enough information to make those decisions,” Donovan said.
In a conversation with David Aldridge of The Athletic, Bulls star DeMar DeRozan spoke about embracing his role as a veteran mentor and enjoying a strong second act to his NBA career after being devastated by the trade that sent him to San Antonio following nine seasons in Toronto. “It’s definitely gratifying from the standpoint that I hope I can be an inspiration for guys who lose confidence in themselves. Or they hit a rock in the road, and (are) struggling to figure it out,” DeRozan said. “There’s always a way. You can’t get down on yourself mentally, you can’t doubt yourself. You can’t get caught up into what everybody else may say and the expectations they put on you. As long as you have the ultimate belief in you and your work ethic, that’s the only thing that matters, that will pay off.”

Central Notes: Ball, Clarkson, Bogdanovic, Livers, Vucevic, Caruso

September 29th, 2022 at 10:50am CST by Dana Gauruder

There’s confidence that Bulls point guard Lonzo Ball will return at some point this season, Shams Charania of The Athletic tweets.

Ball underwent another left knee surgery on Wednesday and doctors are optimistic the issue has been fully addressed. However, he’s going to be out a number of months, Charania adds.

Ball was still unable to “run or jump” entering training camp despite a lengthy rehab from two previous procedures this year.

We have more from the Central Division:

The Bucks showed a lot of interest in trading for the Jazz‘s Jordan Clarkson but the Jazz balked at Milwaukee’s proposal, Tony Jones of The Athletic said on the Bill Riley Show podcast (hat tip to HoopsHype). Utah was uninterested at taking back George Hill‘s contract, which Jones described as a non-starter in trade discussions. One of the league’s top scoring reserves, Clarkson averaged 16 points last season. He has two years left on his four-year, $51.52MM contract. Hill has an expiring $4MM contract, so Milwaukee would have still needed to send out more salary in a potential trade.
The Lakers and Suns were among the teams reportedly pursuing Bojan Bogdanovic but he wound up getting traded to the Pistons. The former Jazz forward says he wasn’t concerned where he ended up, according to Keith Langlois of Pistons.com. “I didn’t have any preference,” Bogdanovic said. “There’s a lot of rumors. Who knows if that’s true or not? I’m super happy and excited to be part of the Pistons.”
Pistons forward Isaiah Livers wound up playing 19 games during his rookie season after recovering from a foot injury. He’s aiming to become a regular part of the rotation this season, he told James Edwards III of The Athletic. “I wanted to build off those last 19, 20 games,” the 2021 second-round pick said. “Coaches and everyone seemed to love the way that I was playing. It was working effectively.”
There was heavy speculation that Bulls center Nikola Vucevic would be part of a package to acquire Rudy Gobert during the offseason. Vucevic had serious doubts that would happen and was proven correct when Gobert was dealt to Minnesota, Joe Cowley of the Chicago Sun-Times writes. “Rumors are a part of what we do,’’ said Vucevic, who is on an expiring contract. “Whether they’re true or not, it’s out of my control. I focus on what I can control, and, in the end, I had some fun with [the Jazz rumors]. At no point did I feel it was going to happen.’’
Bulls guard Alex Caruso is one of the candidates to replace Ball in the starting lineup as he mends from his latest knee surgery, but that’s not Caruso’s focus, Darnell Mayberry of The Athletic writes. “It won’t be a conversation I’ll have with Billy (Donovan). He might have it with me depending on what we need,” Caruso said. “But I’ve always been team-first trying to win games. If that’s me starting basketball games then that’s what we’ll do. If that’s me coming off the bench, that’s fine too. I’ve always been I’d rather finish games than start games.